Let's Talk About: Groundhog Day
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Did you know that Groundhog Day, or Candlemas Day, is actually an astronomical holiday that has to do with seasons? Groundhog Day is a "cross-quarter date" that falls approximately midway between a solstice and an equinox.
Long ago, the Celts of the British Isles divided the year into four major sections and then divided each of these in half to mark an eight-part year that reflected the natural procession of the seasons. Thus there are eight major seasonal subdivisions every year. They include the March and September equinoxes, the June and December solstices, and the intervening four cross-quarter days.
The cross-quarter days are lesser known today, at least in their original context and level of observation. One cross-quarter day known as Samhain by the Celts and as All Hallow's Eve by early Christians is one of North America's most celebrated unofficial holidays: Halloween. Another cross-quarter day definitely gets a load of publicity each year in early February. The Celts called it Imbolc, the Christian church, Candlemas. We know it best as Groundhog Day. Lesser known are Beltane or May Day, and the almost forgotten Lammas, the first harvest festival celebrated at the beginning of August.
In many traditions Groundhog Day is considered the beginning of spring. It was considered a bad omen if the day was bright and sunny. Winter would continue for six more weeks. If the day was cloudy and dark, warmth and rain would thaw out the fields and have them ready for planting.
Our Groundhog Day is a remote survivor of that belief. German immigrants brought the tradition with them to the New World. As they settled in the hills of Pennsylvania, they began the tradition of using the groundhog to predict the arrival of spring. In Europe, hedgehogs were used as the main weather forecaster. North America has no hedgehogs, so European settlers chose the groundhog or woodchuck with this predictive insight.
First Published January 26, 2012 12:00 am
